Joy Behar Doubts Alyssa Farah Griffin’s Chances of Going to Heaven: “Very Optimistic of You”

Be careful what you say around Joy Behar — she catches everything. The longtime View star got snarky with her co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin on this morning’s episode of the talk show, acting incredulous when Griffin shared her rosy predictions for the afterlife.

(Editor’s Note: The View is currently on hiatus; contrary to what you may have heard, The View was not canceled today. This article was originally published on July 12, 2023, when this episode first aired. The View will return with new episodes in September 2023.)

During a conversation about Aretha Franklin‘s will — a four-page document found in 2018 sandwiched in between couch cushions in her home — the panel shared their own preferences for how their finances, lives and even bodies will be managed once they inevitably pass on.

After Sunny Hostin said she wants her very own mausoleum to host her whole family, while Whoopi Goldberg jokingly began to sing “Dust in the Wind,” the panel debated the pros and cons of cremation and burials in a rather morbid chat for 11 a.m. on a Wednesday.

Upon the mention of Jim Morrison’s Paris tomb, Griffin raised the question of how public figures can manage their likeness and influence even long after they’re gone, referring to the holograms, films and series that have kept late celebrities “alive” in recent years.

Arguing that stars like Marilyn Monroe have been “so posthumously exploited,” Griffin told the panel, “she didn’t control in writing how she could be used, so I think that’s really important if you’re a public figure.”

Behar interrupted to incredulously ask, “Do you care how you’re portrayed after you’re dead? Who cares!” but Griffin insisted, “I do. I believe in the afterlife, so I’m going to be up in heaven looking down.”

In response, Behar raised a finger and quipped, “Very optimistic of you,” while raising her eyebrows. Ever the good sport, Griffin just laughed along with the jab.

Meanwhile, Goldberg swiftly moved on from Behar’s little dig by assuring the panel that when she’s gone, she won’t be visiting any of them in hologram form: “That’s been in my will for 15 years,” she said.

The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.